Skip navigation

Tag Archives: dessert

I make! Inside out pumpkin muffins edition

It’s the KAF bakealong #2: Inside out pumpkin muffins. I am posting this very late, considering that I actually made this (twice) in September, when it was announced.

Anyway, I don’t really see why they’re considered inside out. They’re a stuffed muffin, but it’s not like what you would consider the stuffing on the outside and the muffin part is on the inside. I wonder if I’m going to be confused by the naming of every KAF bakealong. Well, two data points isn’t really enough to trend. Guess I’ll have to wait and see.

Anyway, when making the muffins, I subbed out the whole wheat flour for my normal AP flour. I have a new 25lb bag. Yay! Also, I didn’t have any boiled cider so I just used some honey that I’ve been trying to get rid of. I would really like to try the recipe with boiled cider. It sounds like it’d be really good. Finally, I went with the cinnamon, ginger, cloves route. I slightly upped the amount of each of the spices. I like things a bit spicier.

I managed to make 10 whole muffins and 2 half muffins with the amount of batter I had. I had more than enough of the filling and just the right amount of streusel topping. Actually, I might have preferred more of the streusel topping. I only managed 10 muffins because I used very close to 2 tbsp of batter for each well in the beginning. And then I realized that it said a scant 2 tbsp. So, if I did that, I should have had enough batter for 12 whole muffins. I could probably use another tbsp scoop.

It smelled quite good while it was baking. But spicy stuff often does. I feel it could have been more spicy when I tasted it. I’m also uncertain about the cream cheese filling. It’s not bad but I think it might be too dense for my taste. Of course, I’m not a huge fan of filling anyway.

I’m going to try this again with boiled cider. I’ve been looking at the reviews and most of the same that the boiled cider really improves the taste. I’ll just make some boiled cider, I guess. Which I did, and I did end up making the muffins again with boiled cider. I think the muffin part did taste better. I still really like the streusel. I’m still uncertain about that filling. Maybe I’ll just make it as an unfilled muffin from now on.

86568f5b-f314-47c3-a277-903462455217

I make! Ugly blueberry lemon cake edition

Remember this from last week?

WP_20160717_09_24_05_Rich (2)

I made it a few weeks ago when I had a lot of lemons to get rid of (stupid tree) and a bunch of blueberries I didn’t use from when I had family visiting.  Turns out, I also had a block of cream cheese sitting in the fridge during that time.  So I made a blueberry lemon layer cake.  Also because I saw one online and figured it was a good way to get rid of some lemons and blueberries.

I mostly followed the recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction.  She calls it a lemon blueberry layer cake.  It is indeed a layer cake.  But I say blueberry lemon.  Maybe because I feel that it’s more orderly that way.

The changes I made were to use powdered buttermilk (of course, and use milk in place of water when reconstituting), cream the lemon zest in with the butter and sugar, add the ingredients to the butter mixture in a dry/wet/dry/wet/dry order, and bake in two 9″ pans.  Bake time ended up being about 24min.

In the frosting, I used slightly less sugar than called for (I don’t really like sickeningly sweet frosting), milk instead of heavy cream (just add milk slowly and beat in until you have the consistency you want), and the zest of one lemon.

I decided to go for a four layer cake, which meant that I sliced each cake in half.  I also decided not to frost the sides and leave them bare.  I don’t really have a problem with this look.  I just think I didn’t do it well and the cake looks ugly.  Oh well.

I was told that the cake tasted really good (I didn’t have any) and everyone was surprised by the pairing of lemons and blueberries in a layer cake.  Um…I didn’t think it was that unique.  Although, I suppose normally you would find that more in a pound cake instead of a layer cake.

Which brings me to the point of: I don’t really like making layer cakes.  This cake just reminded me again that I don’t.  I always think I’ll like doing it…but layer cakes don’t look good or special unless you actually take the time to assemble nicely and decorate well.  I enjoy the baking process (and eating process) and not so much the assembly and not really the decorating at all.  I probably won’t be making another layer cake any time soon.

Until I forget that I don’t like making them again and take on another layer cake project.